A New Kind of Fun
by SailorOwls
Summary: James Potter was destined for greatness ever since he was conceived. That is he was until he became the most unthinkable, unworthy scum of the earth: a Slytherin. He came to Hogwarts hoping for an adventure, but how could he. Somehow his four friends from the express stand by him and a letter from his grandfather shows him the way.
1. New Friends and Enemies

_Chapter One_

_New Friends...and Enemies_

To muggles, the first of September was a just a normal-ish day—but what day is ever like the next. King's Cross Station however was overflowing with all manner of non-normality. Owls, cats, toads, broomsticks, pointy hats, and cloaks adorned carts and parents as they headed to the magical platform 9 3/4.

"Mummy! Look he has an owl too!" a little girl pointed to the Longbottms as they passed. Neville pushed his family further towards the platform. "No, wait!" The little girl had left her little cart with her parents. "Please," she breathed, having trouble keeping up with the ex-auror.

"What is it, dear?" Hannah pushed her husband's arms away, giving him a stern look that made him sure to expect a letter about hospitality once he was at Hogwarts.

"Well, I'm looking for platform 9 3/4, and I saw you had an owl," she pointed to Frank, the eldest's, cart, " and he has a broomstick."

"Oh," Hannah gave Neville an even sterner look. The girl was to be one of his students—make that a Howler.

"Mona!" Her muggle parents ran up toward them. "Don't run off like that!" Her mother kissed her all over.

"Okay, okay," she giggled. When the kisses were over, she turned back to the Longbottoms.

"This is my mother, Pearl; and my father, Leonardo. My name's Mona."

"We're the Longbottms, this is my husband Neville, my son Frank-,"

"April, April Longbottom!" A girl that was nearly two heads shorter than Mona stuck out her hand. Mona took it.

"I'm a first year too," April had bright red hair like her mother. Frank looked more like his father.

"And here are Spring and Autumn," Mrs. Longbottom pulled two hands out front to reveal a pair of twins.

"They're going to Hogwarts in two years," April added helpfully.

The clock struck ten, the train was leaving in an hour, but Mona's parents had to get to work because this was a normal day for muggles.

"Oh, darling, I'm sorry. I knew we should have taken the day off."

"It's fine, Mum, I'm gonna miss you." They kissed goodbye and her mother made sure that the Longbottoms would take her to the platform.

"So what house do you think you're gonna be in?" April asked pushing her cart alongside Mona's.

"Those are the team things right."

"Yeah! There's Gryffindor where Dad was placed, and Frank—but he doesn't count, the coward; Slytherin, where all the bad people go, but dad says that nowadays it's just for really cunning people," Mona said. She looked both ways quickly "But Frank told me they are still evil."

"There's Ravenclaw, which is full of smart people and weird people; and then there's Hufflepuff, mum's house, most people dismiss it, but I think it is the best house of all." April continued rattling on as she walked right through a wall. Mona blinked; where had she gone?

"Go on, dear," Hannah motioned towards the wall with her head holding onto the Twins' hands whose wide, brown eyes unnerved her.

"Through the wall?" Mona looked doubtful. Hannah nodded. Mona gulped; she could do this! She ran at the wall—no! She couldn't do this—and she was through almost crashing into April who was wondering if she died or something.

"If you did, I would lose one of my only friends," she told Mona her opinions on her death. It still made Mona smile; she had a friend.

April lead Mona to the nearly empty train, and only a few people were milling around outside. They were able to find a compartment easily.

"Frank's going to sit with his friends; the prat, leaving his sister behind." The bustled inside through inda down a carry on to claim the compartment. Mona threw down her sketchbook.

"What's it like having a brother?" Mona, being an only child, asked.

"It sucks a lot of the time—he's really protective— and other times it's awesome because he will do anything, and I mean anything, to make me happy. What's it like not having any siblings?"

"Lonely, I wish all the time that I had siblings. All my cousins are younger than me or a lot older or in a different country, and I don't live near any kids my age. When it's only you..."

"Well, you aren't going to be alone, ever again!" April smiled at her. "Now, let's go find the Trolley Lady; I heard she gives a discount to people who get here early. And my dad's a teacher, so we can get candy for practically free!"

OoOoO

Albus was grumbling and had been since the Potters left the manor.

"Al, stop it, you're making Jamie feel bad," Lily glared at her brother.

"I want to go to Hogwarts!" Albus whined.

"So do I, but Mum said that I had some growing up to do first and so do you." This only made Albus huff.

James pushed his cart through the barrier to get away from his sibling's bickering—they were always doing that, sometimes he even joined in, but today he was going to Hogwarts; he was a real man!

Pushing through the wall, he ran straight into his cousin Fred.

"Mate!" The dark skinned boy shouted. "Watch where you're goin'."

"Maybe you shouldn't stand in front of the wall," James quipped. "What are you doing by the wall?" James looked at Fred's grin. "You planned this, didn't you," he sighed.

"Let't start picking this up before Mum comes through." Once they'd finished, after Ginny came through and yelled at them for being so careless, a bell rang announcing five minutes until the train's departure.

"Mum! Stop!" James managed to push his mother away and escape her infinite kisses, jumping onto the train with Fred.

"There are no seats left, now," Fred whined.

"Don't be silly, we're Weasleys; we are bound to know someone on the train."

"Yeah, like Teddy and Vic." Fred said hopefully.

"No, you don't want to be in their compartment. We'll just-"

"Quidditch is a dangerous game!" A familiar voice squealed . The boys groaned the only girl with that voice was April Longbottom who was no fun at all. She hated Quidditch and all things fun, but mostly she hated Quidditch.

"What should we do?" Fred whispered. They could hear her annoying screeches getting closer.

"Uh-"

"Jamie Potter! Freddie Weasley!" April bounced happily.

It seemed that she had trapped another first year, a girl with cool gray eyes and thick brown hair. She was watching them curiously.

"April get off me!" Fred shoved at their family friend, who was by no means a friend to him or James.

"April, who are they?" The other girl asked. April immediately stopped hugging Fred.

"This is Jamie Potter; son of Harry Potter, savior of the Wizarding world, and Ginny Potter, the only female offspring of Nana and Papa Weasley; and Freddie Weasley, son of the remaining member of the Weasley Twins, George."

"Nice to meet you," the girl said. "I'm Mona Lee, a Muggleborn witch so please don't mind me."

April noticed their bags by their feet. "Oh! You haven't found a compartment yet. You can sit with us, right Mona?!"

"Why not, we have enough room." It seemed their fate had been decided for them. Fred and James followed their new acquaintance and the most annoying girl they knew—even above their younger sisters.

OoOoO

Mona sat down across from April a small pile of candy beside her consisting mostly of Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans ("and they mean every flavor," April had told her.) April was surrounded by every sort of candy not preferring one of the other—"I love them all so much!" Mona pulled out a sketchbook and began sketching,and April began to snack and talk with her nasally voice not really caring if Mona was actually listen or not. Mona was listening, just drawing half-mindedly. James and Fred were arguing with themselves on weather they should leave, and who was going to sit next to April; James lost.

By the time, they changed into their robes, leaving the girls in the compartment, James had gone deaf in his right ear from sitting by April. Fred had managed a semi-conversation with Mona.

Hagrid called the first years forward with his loud booming voice. Unfortunately, for James and Fred, April found them, so James was able to tell Mona about the family friend. He was the gamekeeper, lover of animals, and secret teller.

The story continued even when they reached the Black Lake, where a large octopus lived—a tentacle waved at them.

Mona gulped at the majesty that was Hogwarts, her jaw dropping. James and Fred had seen the castle before because Fred's dad, Uncle George, had given them an exclusive Weasley tour. And April was the daughter of the Deputy Headmaster, so none of this was a surprise to any of them. Mona though was muggle born. Sure she'd seen big old castle-ish structures before—she lived in England for Merlin's sake—but she had never seen Hogwarts which was different. It was magical, and Mona knew, as soon as she got to her room that night, she would have to draw it—every spire, every flickering window, all of it.

Too soon, at least for Mona, the first years were being loaded off (other students were also in a state of shock like Mona, she was grateful to find), and shuffled into the grand castle. They were then pushed into a small room and given a run down of house points ("You win them for doing good things and loose them for doing bad things," Professor Longbottom had said, eyeing Fred and not the ones who seemed to obviously be Slytherin), and about what was about to happen with the sorting, which Fred had told Mona was dangerous.

"When it is time for the sorting I will come to get you, you will be in alphabetical order and will stand right in front of the teachers table. I'll get the sorting hat out and began calling names. You will each wear the hat and be sorted, understood?" The first years nodded and somewhere in the middle of the group a girl newly fainted. Someone whispered the name, "Lucy."

"She looks like a shoe-in for Hufflepuff." Some greasy looking kid whispered to his friends who were all fat and greasy too.

April turned to face them. Her father had left already, so if a fight were to start, it would start now. "You say that as if it were bad?"

The boy to turned to her with a great smirk on his thin lips.

"Oy," his voice was squeaky like at mouse, but he was too fat for a mouse. No, this boy was the annoying pest known as the rat, but not only that, he was King of the Rats.

"Looks like we've found ourselves a 'ittle kitten," he laughed, or rather wheezed.

"I'm not a Gryffindor; I'm going to be a Hufflepuff like my mum."

"Oh really," the King of Rats sneered his fat friends following close behind.

"You seem to brave for a Hufflepuff. Too loud and your friends," he waved to Fred and James, "Their Gryffindors."

"And. I don't see your point. A Hufflepuff can be brave trust me they stood beside Hogwarts and defended it alongside the Gryffindors when the Dark Lord attacked. Not to mention we were the one house to never have anyone betray Hogwarts. We have more bravery than nearly every house, and the Gryffindors make up for it with their stupidity." She turned to Fred and James.

"No offense."

"None taken." Fred said.

"Not to mention all of the great witches and Wizards who came out of Hufflepuff. Cedric Diggory, Tonks Lupin, just to name a couple. So don't you even start to judge us because the Hufflepuffs have been the ne'er estimated for too long."

And then the doors opened and Neaville walked in making sure everyone was in order. Then he guided the first year into the great hall walking beside his daughter.

"Nice speech," he whispered, "your mum would be proud." April beamed at this.

OoOoO

Professor Longbottom walked to his place by a stool with a hat resting upon it. His eyes whispered over the faces of the students. In his hand, with a large amount of theatrics, a scroll appeared in his hand. "Lucy Alberry," he called, summoning the girl who had nearly fainted early.

She walked up shaking so hard that Neville had to hold the hat on her head though it took only five seconds to sort her into..."Gryfinndor!" April smirked a little. Lucy probably would have been a good Hufflepuff, but proving the King of Rats wrong was worth it.

Mona was the first of their little group to go up. She wasn't shaking, but still nervous. The hat fell down to cover her eyes and she couldn't even see the floor. All round her she heard the hat-muffled sounds of students whispering and the occasional, accidental clanging of dinnerware.

"Hmm... A Muggleborn," the hat whispered. "A great mind. Closed to world, but open to ideas. Very interesting. You are not loyal by any means no I can see it clearly. Ah, but bravery...No, Gryffindor won't do. Slytherin perhaps or Ravenclaw. Slytherin...you might die...Ravenclaw!" It pronounced, and off Mona was in a daze to find the table of blue.

"Longbottom, April!"

"Another Longbottom, I know where-" the hat swirled on her head thinking. "Very strange, you are certainly Gryffindor material, but your bravery comes from a source your loyalty and need for justice are alarming...Hufflepuff!" April swung down from the stool and skipped towards her house.

"Portbelly, Martin," also known as King of the Rats, was called next and sorted into Slytherin. "Potter, James," came next.

When the hat came down over his ears James heard nothing. He began to wonder if he had died before a soft voice spoke to him. "Potter, Potter, careful and meticulous. You use everything to your advantage when you can. I would say Ravenclaw, but you don't seem the type. No, you are a SLYTHERIN!" It shouted. James walked to his house to no applause and utter shock.

Not much else happened that night some the houses gained a few more first years and the Gryffindors: a new Weasley, who only had to be near the hat for it to sort him.

So overall, no one died. Mona had a few friends, April was where she always wanted to be, Fred was in his element, and James was...dealing.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: So this is not only my first Harry Potter fic, but my first story in quite some time. I would really appreciate it if you left a review or maybe some good old fashion favs and follows. Pretty much everything except a flame and nothing at all. In your reviews and stuff, please tell me if you' like me to continue to fill the internet with this chaos; I really would love to continue this story. Also leave some suggestions what you might like to see because I'm sorta going with the flow but flow can use some inspiration. **

**Some notes that may be important:**

**I don't own anything mentioned in the Harry Potter series; Queen Rowling does. **

**I'm American; I don't know british slang. If you would like to tell me how to write british slang, then by all means do so. **

**Lastly, leave a review and I will love you.**

**Hoots,**

_Owls_


	2. New Letters

Chapter Two

New Letters

A finger came up to squash it. It fluttered away and fairy-like wings. Again the finger came down. And again the fly evaded, moving the smallest of distances to make the narrowest of escapes from the menacing finger. He brought up his hand to smack it, but it had already moved. A shoe. It was gone. A box. Gone. His wand. Gone. James nearly screamed, but instead he gave up and flopped onto his bed. He was endlessly bored, but had to stay in the Slytherin rooms until it was time to wake up and eat. He could barely wait and was just about to start counting seconds when He decided to start to do a little unpacking.

James brought over the old suitcase with the letters JHP written on it in fading gold but still shining ink. It had been his grandfather's and that was what made it so special and why he didn't want a new one. The boy placed his wand carefully on the floor trying not to make noise and wake his snoring roommates though it was highly doubtful that would happen.

It creaked open: the hinges must have needed some oil. The leather straps that held it shut were already falling apart and his dad had to get new shinny one that didn't suite the baggage at all. The inside was plastered with old newspapers some for Quidditch, some for little pranking charms, some for a famous muggle singer of the time that his grandmother probably included at some point maybe as a prank.

The sight made him smile having the same old stories of his lineage playing in his mind. Those were the stories he came to Hogwarts wanting to experience himself, but now he was in the cold, dank, smelly, Slytherin dungeons and that meant he could never live up to them. He wanted to punch something. He wanted to blame something: his dad or the hat, but the hat was always right and his father had nothing to do with this.

Was he really a Slytherin? Could he actually be that bad?

James thought back to his childhood. Once Lily was able to talk and walk she lead them on adventures. She was the courageous Gryfinndor that the family was famous for. Albus would always protect her having been closer to her while she was a baby in her crib. James however would have already been out into the woods or the fields being older and on his own more. He would know the best way to sneak off and scare his sister silly and get Albus blamed. So maybe he was a little cunning, but not amibitious.

He didn't want to be anything. Well... He did want to play Qudditch. He wanted to be the best player since his dad was at Hogwarts on the...on the Gryfinndor team because if you were a Slytherin you were a cheat and a liar and no good for anything and were always bad not worthy anyone's time.

He threw his clothes roughly on the bed. Just because he was Slytherin he became everything bad and good about it with the bad being heavier on the scale skewed by people's tiny little minds. He jerked his arm almost slamming the clothes into the draw and waking up the rest of his dorm-mates, but he stopped himself.

James finished his work making sure not to touch in the subject in fear that his anger would spark in the night that acted like a mirror for his mind. He picked up his worn suitcase, and began to close it. The Potter boy cocked his: some of the old newspaper was on his bed. It was a headline for the singer. He turned his green eyes to the case and notice a little piece of white in the mist of yellowing paper. The paper was a cluster of the pop singer's headlines and was peeling away already.

The scales in his mind began weighing his options. To peel away the muggle paper or to put the fallen paper back. What would a Slytherin do? Depends on the Slytherin some would save it until they knew more about it, others would carefully peel away the paper so they can could put it back and figure out why there was a miscoloration. But what would a Gryfinndor do? They would act with out precaution, they would rip the paper away in hopes of a new adventure. That's what he would have done if the same events had occurred in a dorm adorned with red and gold with a warm fire in a little furnace in the center of the room.

So, he gently pulled away the headlines for the woman with long flowing hair and strange headbands that wrapped around her forehead instead of keeping her hair back. They were painstakingly cut from their paper but haphazardly glue down as if in a hurry. Strange.

Finally a piece of folded paper fell to the green sheets, but James barely noticed the color with the excitement of the mysterious document. He could have the adventure he always dreamed of. They started off like this in a simple way like reading a letter.

_To who-_(this was crossed out and 'whom' put above it)_-ever this finds, _

_We are the Maruaders. Yeah, we're pretty famous at Hogwarts where you're probably going too, but that's beside the point we want to offer you the opportunity to become one of us, you know carry the legacy on and such. _

_We have included the first steps and full proof instructions below written by _(added in front of the name were the words: 'the smartest person you'll ever meet and the most amazing and ridiculous and fun and cool and'- cut off and scribbled out. 'Ignore Mr. Black, please' was written in its stead.)_ Mooney._

_The Marauders unofficial leader,_

_James Harry Potter _(there was another note to the side—"James, everyone considers you the leader of the 'Marauders.' It's not unofficial. It's official"—it was written in neat script that curled at the ends, but some parts James couldn't read too well. But beside that note there was another in the curly script written with an arrow pointing to his Grandfather's name—"This is the prime example of an Idiot!")

The letter went on and on with these little notes, but James skipped over them for another day when he wasn't about to gladly fall into his green and silver bed sheets. The next few papers contained vague instructions with sassy and sarcastic remarks.

_How to Find Your Marauders_

_Have four members one should be smart—really smart, so smart they don't do anything stupid. One more should be pining over someone so much they will do stupid things, but on the inside they are more calculating than that and you start to wonder why they weren't in Slytherin. Another should be a player— a man that could get everything and so stupid they start all the stupidity. The last should be shy, almost afraid—they have to follow you everywhere, and then you will have your Marauders. _

(At the bottom of the page below the note in the curly script:) _The Marauders I know are a close group of friends that would do anything for each other even become Animagus. You don't have to be a Marauder—that's not what they want, but to be one is an honor. They have the ability to make people laugh, to break the tension in any room. They are by far some of the kindest, but also most careless people I know. But they have their own kind of magic._

_Lily Evans_ (the last name was crossed out and rewritten in a blocky script from earlier as "Potter")

_P.S._ (The handwriting that crudely wrote Potter in place of Evans)_ It is a new kind of fun. And it's awesome."_

It left his mind swirling and diving to all sorts of places. Should he do it, or should he not? This was his chance to find the adventure that his parents and grandparents had at Hogwarts.

He lay back against he soft pillow snug inside its green case. What if he did it? He could be a Marauder. Not even his dad was that. It would certainly get his attention. Maybe Albus wouldn't be the favorite then. That was stupid—who cares about what Albus is...his eyes shut, and drifted off into unfritful sleep.

OoOoOoOoO

James felt like only five minutes had passed but in actuality it was a few hours. The sun still hadn't risen, but it was starting to peek through. The Rat and his friends were still asleep, snoring and obnoxious.

The brown-hair boy sat up and shook his head, but turned to see what had made a small thud on the floor. A letter. Then he remembered that it was the letter. The letter that he wanted so badly to believe was true.

He left it on the ground and put on his robes, ignoring it though he could feel it nagging in the back of his mind. That right there on the floor was this thing that could change his life and he was ignoring it because he was a bloody Slytherin—and there it was at his feet. His robes swishing because of his angry steps towards it.

It was just a letter, he reasoned. It was just like Slytherin was just a house. "Just a letter. Just a house." He chanted under his breathe picking up the letter and putting it in his pocket, setting out towards the Great Hall for breakfast. He continue his mantra until he sat down across from a lonely Mona who was reading a big book at the Ravenclaw table.

"You're up early," she said not even looking at him. _One should be smart—really smart_ the words flashed through his head.

"Yeah, I didn't want to be there when my dorm-mates woke up. Why are you up so early?" He was still in a daze while he said this, so he was lucky Mona was so focused on her book.

"The library opens at six, so I woke up at five. Can you pass me some pancakes?"

He handed them over after taking some for himself. "Why do you like books that much? I mean they're great and all, but you woke up that early."

"I don't really like them as much as you think, but I need to know more about magic. The fast way to learn it is to read from books and take notes—see." She held up some parchment. The scribble was nearly illegible, but he managed to make out some of it. "I found all the useful, should know, spells from every grade spell book so far and how to cast it. Now I'm looking for more in this." She motioned to her book and stuffed some pancake into her mouth.

"Impressive." He handed the pages back."Did you get any sleep last night?"

"Of course. I slept for like three hours."

"And who kept you up?" Fred joined them with the sun just risen behind him giving him a majestic glow that made some of the girls at the Hufflepuff table nearly fall out off they chairs.

"That's gross." Mona threw a book at him. Fred ducked and it clattered to the ground.

"Really, Fred. I'll get it." James stood to get it, but the letter fell out of his pocket, as if in slow motion while the words _a player—a man who could get anything_ flashed through his head again. He stuffed the letter back in his robe and picked up the book.

"Where's April?" James asked siting back down.

"Fawning over the new teacher." Fred pointed to the girls whispering and giggling near the potions professor-in-training Mr Ravery.

That checked one more box on the list of Marauders, but where was he in all this.

_You start to wonder why they weren't put in Slytheirn._ He was a Slytherin. Maybe he could pass for that. The last box was checked.

"Hey, look we have Potions together." Mona pointed out. James blinked, and looked at the slip of paper that want there before.

"Uh, yeah."

**A/N: Hey-o readers, I'm sorry I took so long to update. I haven't been able to write as much as I'd like to. But I still love this story and have many more chapters to write. Actually the reason why I didn't update recently was that I was considering making this story drabbles until I reached a point where it was finished and I could connect them all together which is how I write books, but I ended up with this instead and am decides that I will still do the published chapter format, but will just write drabbles to for them.**

**Hoots,**

**Owls**


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